Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Downtown could be residential magnet, advocates say

Annie Tierney made a pros-and-cons list about living in downtown Springfield before she and husband Ben moved into the Lincoln Square Apartments in July.

Cons included parking hassles, limited entertainment choices and a business district that all but closes after weekday work hours.

But the pros won out for the gregarious graduate student at the University of Illinois Springfield, who dreams of working in government.

“I really like being in the center of everything,” said Tierney, who waited two months before space became available in the distinctive red-brick apartment complex at Fifth and Monroe streets.

An urban design team looking at trends in downtown Springfield said enticing more people like Tierney to live in the heart of the city is vital to the area’s future growth.

Tierney was featured in an February 22, 2012, article in The State Journal-Register.

Read the article online